Then, it was less a question than a jubilant exclamation for a dream season that fans hoped would end in the ultimate NFL fantasy.

It took morning headlines and another quick confirmation with ESPN to allow the plaster to set on reality: "New Orleans Saints, Super Bowl Champions."

Break out one more T-shirt. New Orleans threw a parade that, in keeping with the spirit of the season, would have rolled win or lose. Indeed, amid the pre-game excitement some fans sought emotional self-preservation with a similar sentiment: Just getting to the Super Bowl after 43 years was its own reward, wasn't it? But the resilient Saints team, before the largest TV audience in history, had more lofty aspirations. ...

Is the Saints victory a panacea for all that's troubling New Orleans? Will it make the city impermeable to flood or hardship? Would a win, as one friend speculated, draw more Katrina refugees back to the Crescent City?

We don't know about all that. But we do know that sports sometimes is more than a game. The Saints have given the people of New Orleans a break from four years of rebuilding. The Saints faithful, scattered from Atlanta to Minden to Dallas, finally can bask in a Super Bowl win after decades of seeing their team serve as Sunday fodder for other teams on their way to championships. ...